TPS Extends Deadline For Teacher Training Program

Tulsa Public Schools wants to help train anyone interested in becoming a teacher. The Tulsa Teacher Corps is extending its deadline for applications for its free two-year program.

Tulsa Teacher Corps is for anyone who wants to become a teacher but currently works in a different profession. Some people know they want to be a teacher from an early age and others might not know until later in life, like Terralynnd Jackson.

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“I knew that if I wanted to make the shift from news to teaching that I would need some help and that I would need some training. So just based on what I had already known about the program, I applied for it," said Jackson. This is the second year for Jackson to teach at TPS after leaving her job in local news. There are others in the program who have similar reasons for signing up.

“I did not go to college to study education. So this allows me to get the course work, the testing, and the training to be able to be a teacher in Tulsa Public Schools," said Kendall Wilson.

Wilson also wants to make a difference in the classroom. Getting the training while working is one of the biggest benefits for Wilson and Jackson.

“It’s like they pay you to learn the information that if you didn’t go through the teacher corps, you would be paying somebody else to teach you through a college course," said Jackson.

Wilson said she's grateful for this opportunity and to be able to learn from mentors who inspire her. “I could just see the impact that other teachers around me were having and I wanted that for myself. I wanted my own classroom. They just inspired me and this training just gave me the tools and the climate to do it," said Wilson.

The deadline to apply is June 1st.